iPhone Panorama again and of the same scene again, Singapore Marina Bay but with a bonus of puffy clouds this time. These two images are pretty much straight out of the iPhone 4s. I did apply a bit of sharpening since the sharpness of an image would reduce when you resize it.

I have a feeling I will continue to shoot this scene as I will still be there for some time. But I will shoot again when the sky and lighting are different.

The first one above was shot through a tinted glass window that made the sky bluer while the one below was shot from the Marina Bay Promenade on the street level. That tinted glass window gives an effect like the polarizer filter does.

You can really take amazing iPhone photos using that little device that was Designed by Apple in California and Assembled in China. Sorry, I know I have been talking about it for some days, but I am still amazed with how all these technologies have changed our life or changed the way we do things.

The above is a panorama, 4 images stitched into 1, using the AutoStitch app. Shot from 48th floor through the glass window. You can see a bit of reflection on the glass but I am fine with that. I can’t ask for the window to be opened, anyway. 

The original was in color and I converted it to black and white in Adobe Lightroom. I think I should coin a new word: iphonorama.

More panoramic photography using iPhone 4s. The above panorama of Jago Close food centre is not perfect. A lot of distortion, because I sat quite close from those stalls, and some wrong stitching. But, hey, it’s still good to look at, I think.

And the two below were taken at Marina Bay last night. I converted one to B&W.

More to come when I get a chance to shoot more in the coming weeks.

Creating a very wide image, known as panoramic photograph, will cost you a bomb if you are using a specialized panoramic camera, like the Fuji GX617, Linhof 617SIII and Hasselblad XPan. But thanks to modern image processing technology, you can now create a panoramic photograph using any camera and stitch multiple images together using panoramic photography software like AutoPano Pro, PanoramaPlus, PTGui, EasyPano, Panorama Factory and many others in the market. And if you own a Canon digital camera, you will have a free software from Canon that will allow you to stitch images to create a panoramic photograph. Some of these software are pretty advanced and can really create a high quality panoramic photograph.

But, thanks to technology again, both on software and hardware, many of you can now create a panoramic photograph on the go. You can shoot multiple images and let the software stitch them all together for you. And while it’s stitching the images, you can still receive a phone call from your loved ones on the same device, checking where you are. So, guys, if you own an iPhone running iOS 4 or later (mine is the iPhone 4s running iOS 5), buy this app called AutoStitch that only cost  you US$ 1.99 and you have a little panoramic machine in your pocket.

These two panoramic images of the Singapore Marina Bay were shot using the iPhone 4s and stitched using AutoStitch app. The second one below was taken 23 minutes after the first one above (7.03pm and 7.26pm). The light changing fast after sunset and the “twilight zone” caused the sky to become more bluish. The iPhone seemed to increase the ISO automatically and hence you can see the one below is a little more grainy than the above. But, I guarantee if you print it, you won’t really notice those grains.

Pretty impressive huh? So, go out have fun and create panoramic images using your iPhone. Don’t just play Angry Birds. 

Marina Bay, what a place to be in Singapore now.  Beautiful location for night photography in Singapore.

It has changed a lot and it has changed for the better since they started a number of constructions around the area which included the new Marina Bay Sands Hotel and Casino. Yes, the buildings in the above photo are the old ones, but the location where I stood to take the photo is new. It’s a very spacious and beautiful promenade. You can either walk along or sit to enjoy the night view of the bay.

I knew that there were constructions going on, but it wasn’t until last Thursday when I was walking around to scout for locations for a pre-wedding shoot that I did over the weekend, that I found that this place was ready. Not 100%, but a good 80% I think. So yesterday afternoon, I decided to go for a night shoot. I will certainly go back there again as I was only shooting from one location yesterday. There are still many other spots to explore to get different views of the bay. So, I’ll be back.

You can see the different mood and the change in color temperature in the photos here, starting from when the sky was still bright, getting darker (see photos below) and when it’s almost completely dark (see photo above). My camera was on tripod, mirror lock-up was activated and I used the shutter release cable too. By the way, I finally  used my new tripod, the Gitzo GT1541T which I got as a gift from my good friend. Love the tripod. Very light and sturdy.

In the photo above, you can see there are still some constructions going on in the Marina Bay Sands area on the right hand side. That lotus flower-shaped building will be the new Art & Science Museum. And slightly behind it, you can see the Singapore Flyer.

And here is that new Marina Bay Sands Hotel and Casino with the completed SkyPark at the top of the buildings.

While I was shooting, there was a construction worker who stood next to me, watching me taking one shot after another. His name is Sukanta and he came from Bangladesh 3 years ago to work as a construction worker for the contractor who built the Marina Bay Sands Hotel. He had to borrow 300,000 Taka (~S$ 6,500) from a bank in order for him to come to Singapore. He needed that big amount of money to pay the agent who would find him an employer in Singapore. But he proudly told me that he had already paid back the bank loan completely and has been saving for his future since then. He gladly posed for me with the Marina Bay Sands hotel in the background, the buildings where he had contributed his mind and energy in the past 3 years. I am sure he is very proud now knowing that he was part of the team who built it. He told me that he had taken thousands of photos over the past 3 years and hopes that one day, he can show them to his future wife and children to share with them about his achievement in helping to build the hotel.

As I was packing up my gears, I continued to talk to him. He has an aspiration to be a writer one day. He loves writing, he said. He writes poems and stories in Bengali, his native language, and he hopes to publish a book once he has enough savings and returns to Bangladesh few years from now. He also hopes to resume his university study and would like to build a house and start his own business using the money that he is saving now.

I had a good 30 minute chat with this young man who has strong determination and knows what he wants to achieve. I sincerely wish him the best for his future.

Have you heard about Singapore Blog Awards 2010? I am one of the Top 10 Finalists for the Best Photography Blog category. If you like this blog and you have a moment to spare, I would appreciate if you could vote for me.

• Voting is open to everybody. For International voters, just use your passport no or ID no during the registration. They need your ID no for verification in case you win the prize for voters.
• Please go here to vote: http://sgblogawards.omy.sg/category/ .
• Click the Best Photography Blog category and click Vote for my blog.
• You can vote everyday even for the same blog. One vote per day per category. So, keep voting please if you can. Thank You! 
• They have prepared some prizes for the voters too : http://sgblogawards.omy.sg/about/prize.html.

What to shoot in Singapore? Visiting Singapore and looking for photo spots?

While Singapore does not have vast expanse of picturesque landscapes, it does offer something else. Besides the safe and clean environment, Singapore offers nice night scenery of the cityscape at Marina Bay. Depending on where you shoot from, you can have the view of the Esplanade, the Merlion, the CBD skyscrapers, the new Marina Bay Sands Hotel and Casion, the Helix bridge and the Singapore Flyers. All are within walking distance from each other. OK, my standard of walking distance could be too much for some as I am fine to walk for 30 minutes to go to the next photo location in this area. Sometimes even further than that. Once, I was walking for almost 6 hours doing street photography in Singapore.

So, if you are in Singapore, why not try shooting the night scenery at Marina Bay. It’s about 15 minute walk from the City Hall MRT station. The photo above was taken from the One Fullerton side in 2004 around 7pm and you can still get the same view now. Maybe you will see part of the new floating platform on the right hand side now. I am not sure. I need to go back there again to shoot. Plan to be there before sunset to scout for a location you like and stay there until about 30 minutes or so after the sun has gone down below the horizon. You will still get some nice colors in the sky instead of just black.

I will write about more locations you can visit in Singapore for photography here. So, please come back to check it out.

Have you heard about Singapore Blog Awards 2010? I am one of the Top 10 Finalists for the Best Photography Blog category. If you like this blog and you have a moment to spare, I would appreciate if you could vote for me.

• Please go here to vote: http://sgblogawards.omy.sg/category/ .
• Click the Best Photography Blog category and click Vote for my blog.
• You can vote everyday even for the same blog. One vote per day per category. So, keep voting please if you can. Thank You! 
• They have prepared some prizes for the voters too : http://sgblogawards.omy.sg/about/prize.html.